1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a molding for vehicles for installation to the periphery of windshield glass, and to a bumper surface, and-the production methods thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of moldings can be installed on the bodies of vehicles. For example, moldings provided with both sealing and decorative functions are installed to the periphery of windshield glass mounted to a window opening, while decorative bumper moldings are installed to the front and side surfaces of bumpers. Said moldings are usually extrusion molded in a long belt shape using elastomers such as rubber and synthetic resins, and usually consist of a support leg which adheres and fastens to the vehicle body side and a decorative portion which is exposed toward the outside. For these molded resin moldings, it is advisable to use materials of high rigidity from the viewpoint of ease of mounting to the vehicle body panel, and for their shape retention quality.
Meanwhile, the provision of a groove to retain rainwater flowing down over the surface of said windshield glass and to drain rainwater thus remained has been proposed for some Time. Such propositions are made in Japanese Utility Model Gazette No. 54416/1982 (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 42617/1980),Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 291721/1988 (U.S. Pat. No. 4757660), Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 195032/1989 (U.S. Pat. No. 4865796), Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 223018/1989 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 144109/1989 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,839) and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 128721/1991. For such vehicle windshield moldings provided with rainwater remaining grooves, it is necessary to use materials of high rigidity for those sections which are raised from the surface of the windshield glass.
Nevertheless, when the whole body of such molding is molded by use of a single high rigidity material, a problem occurs to the effect that it becomes difficult to bend the corner section during mounting work, thus lowering productivity. Various propositions for satisfactorily bending the corner section without difficulty have been made, such as in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 73014/1983, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 8523/1984 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 248426/1985. Nevertheless, with these propositions, the increased number of processes for manufacturing molding and for mounting to vehicle bodies cause problems in productivity and, furthermore, they have the disadvantage that they must be packed and transported in bent form, thus leading to requirements for larger space for storage or transportation purposes. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 145223/1989 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,543) disclosed a proposition wherein a metal core is inserted to the molding to provide higher rigidity, but this proposition would require the use of very large bending molds and there would also be the aforementioned problem regarding transportation.
This invention, therefore, intends to provide a molding for vehicles which features a satisfactory decorative function as well as ease of installation and transportation while maintaining required rigidity, and which can be easily extrusion molded continuously, and the production methods thereof.